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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 11 2012 01:50 | LAST UPDATED Feb 11 2012 01:50 |
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The demands of Orange Farm residents are reasonable, African National Congress chief whip Mathole Motshekga said on Tuesday after meeting the community's leaders. "Their demands are reasonable as you can see that projects are unfinished here and there's sewage in the streets. The ball is now in our court as government to address the issue," he said. Motshekga said more political oversight was needed in the area to ensure that people given government contracts were completing them. This was after he was shown an incomplete road with some of the building material still on the scene. He would take the people's grievances back to the government to be urgently addressed, he said. Motshekga visited various sections of Orange Farm on Tuesday and was shown unfinished roads and sewage flowing down the streets into people's houses. He was shown an area with gravel roads and another where people had to be moved because of water. "The government moved people from Lakeside because it is a wetland, but some still insist on living there. "We cannot have a country where everybody decides what they want; we need a firmer government on such issues," Motshekga said.  CONTINUES BELOW The area was calm on Tuesday following a spate of violent protests. However, roads remained barricaded with stones and burned objects. About 400 residents gathered peacefully, singing and dancing at the local Chris Hani sports complex, waiting patiently for Motshekga to answer their questions. When he arrived at the complex just after 3pm, residents were given a chance to ask him questions. They wanted to know when they would get houses, tarred roads, water and lights. Others complained about ward councillors who were not attending to their grievances but were instead driving expensive cars. Motshekga said he had heard them, would report back to the government and ask that their issues be urgently addressed. -- Sapa TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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